Latest news with #Aldebaran
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
See Venus, the moon and fiery star Aldebaran form a dawn triangle this weekend
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. One of the brightest and most colorful stars in the sky and the most brilliant planet are on stage in the early morning dawn sky this weekend and will be joined by the moon on Monday morning. The star in question is Aldebaran, a first-magnitude star that shines with a distinct orange hue and marks the right eye of Taurus, the Bull. The brilliant planet is, of course, Venus, which outshines Aldebaran by almost five magnitudes or a light ratio difference of almost 100-fold. At this particular moment in time, both star and planet can be seen roughly one-quarter of the way up from the eastern horizon, roughly 45 minutes before sunrise. Venus, a dazzling morning "star," rises about an hour prior to the first light of dawn and shines low in the east-northeast as dawn brightens. On Monday morning, you'll also see a delicately thin (14 percent illuminated) crescent moon hovering approximately 8 degrees above Venus. Your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees in width, so on Monday morning, the slender lunar sliver will appear almost "one fist" above Venus. In a telescope, Venus is a disappointment: just a tiny, gibbous blob, 72 percent illuminated by the sun. It has shrunk and become more nearly round in recent months as it has swung far around to the back side of the sun as seen from Earth. TOP TELESCOPE PICK Want to see Venus, the moon, and Aldebaran together? The Celestron NexStar 8SE is ideal for beginners wanting quality, reliable and quick views of celestial objects. For a more in-depth look at our Celestron NexStar 8SE review. And situated well to the right of both Venus and the moon will be Aldebaran. The trio will appear to form a broad isosceles triangle with Venus marking the vertex angle, while Aldebaran and the moon form the base of the triangle. It will not be a particularly "tight" array, but still should be attractive enough to catch the attention of early risers. With the reappearance of Aldebaran, it is also a gentle reminder that while we are not yet at the midpoint of summer, the colder nights of fall and winter will be looming in the months to come. Aldebaran is crossing the meridian at midnight around Thanksgiving ... and at around 9 p.m. in mid-January. Who knows? By then, some of you might be shoveling snow. So take advantage of this week's opportunity to see not only an out-of-season winter star, but Venus as well, while they both "flirt" with a waning crescent moon. Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, Sky and Telescope and other publications.
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Dawn-lit dance of moon, stars
If you're up early on Monday wrap up warm and step outside. Look northeast just before 6.30am and you'll see something quietly beautiful: the crescent moon drifting close to Matariki, the star cluster, also known as the Pleiades. It's a slow celestial conversation, one that unfolds above frost-covered roofs and sleeping streets. From here in Otago, with our crisp, dark winter skies, the view is magnificent. Through binoculars, the moon will appear barely five degrees from Matariki — close enough to feel intimate. And just to the right, bright Venus blazes away, unmistakable in the constellation Taurus. Jupiter, still low, will just be rising. Matariki isn't just a pretty knot of stars. It's a cluster of hot, young suns around 440 light years away, born together in a stellar nursery and now slowly drifting apart. Māori see it as a mother and her children, each with a role in sustaining life on Earth. The cluster's annual return to the dawn sky marks the New Year in the Maramataka — the Māori lunar calendar — and invites us to reflect, remember and reset. Western mythology calls them the Seven Sisters, the daughters of Atlas, pursued by Orion. To their right shines Aldebaran, a red giant star — Taurus's eye — burning steadily just 65 light years from here. Although it appears close to the Hyades star cluster, Aldebaran isn't a member. It's just passing through our line of sight. There's a quiet synchronicity in the date. Fifty six years ago, on July 21 1969 (New Zealand time), Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon. This same moon — now older, pocked and luminous — will be keeping company with Matariki in the still before dawn. I've seen this sky from sea and summit, city and rural, and it never fails to move me. There's something about watching the moon brush past ancient stars that puts things in perspective. So, boil the kettle, pull on your coat and look up. The universe is doing its thing, and it's worth watching.
Forbes
11-07-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Don't Miss This Weekend's Sky Show As Venus Woos Weirdly Wintry Stars
Venus will appear above Aldebaran while the Pleiades star cluster, pictured, sits above the pair.
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Starwatch: Venus will pass through the ‘golden gate' of two star clusters
This week, Venus will pass through the so-called Golden Gate of the Ecliptic. Although the name has risen to prominence with science popularisers in recent decades, its exact origin is unknown. It references two star clusters in the constellation Taurus, the Bull. The Hydes and the Pleiades lie on either side of the ecliptic, which is the plane of the solar system. As such, the sun, the moon and the planets all follow this line in their passage through the sky. The constellations the ecliptic passes through are known as the zodiacal constellations, referred to in popular culture as the signs of the zodiac. The chart shows the view looking east-north-east from London at 3.30am BST in the pre-dawn twilight of 8 July 2025. On this day, Venus will be approaching the 'gate'. On subsequent mornings, the brilliant planet will move across the invisible line between the two clusters and on 12 and 13 July, it will clip the top of the Hyades star cluster, appearing 3 degrees away from the star Aldebaran. Venus will be a brilliant white beacon in the morning sky, contrasting with the blood-red light from Aldebaran, which represents the eye of the bull. The conjunction will also be easily visible from the southern hemisphere.
Canada Standard
05-06-2025
- Business
- Canada Standard
Top French robotics firm goes into liquidation
Aldebaran, renowned for its androids capable of recognizing human emotions, has accumulated debt exceeding 60 million Aldebaran, a French company that blazed the trail in the field of 'empathetic' humanoid robots in the late 2000s, has been put into liquidation, local media has reported. The tech pioneer was placed into bankruptcy proceedings in January, and then in receivership the following month. On Monday, the receiver, along with the auctioneer, announced the "immediate cessation of activity" and termination of their contracts to the company's remaining 106 employees, according to Othman Meslouh, deputy secretary of Aldebaran's social and economic committee (CSE). The Paris Commercial Court passed the verdict earlier in the day. The receiver is now expected to start selling off the company's profitable assets, including its patents, to settle Aldebaran's outstanding debts that have exceeded €60 million ($68 million). In recent months, two takeover contenders, Franco-Swiss businessman Jean-Marie Van Appelghem and Canadian investor Malik Bachouchi, had made bids for the company. However, the former's overture was not backed by the receiver and Aldebaran's management, while the latter was rejected by the court, as Bachouchi earlier told Le Monde. From 2012 to 2022 - considered the company's heyday - it was owned by Japan's Softbank Robotics Group. Some time after it was acquired by the German company United Robotics Group (URG), a subsidiary of the RAG-Stiftung, the situation began to deteriorate, according to Meslouh. He told AFP that the new owner "no longer wanted to invest in the company." This claim was echoed by another anonymous employee cited by Le Monde, who said URG "asked us to be profitable within two years" even though development "cycles take five to seven years." The unnamed engineer also lamented that the owner had underinvested in Aldebaran's research and development. In the late 2000s, the company rolled out Nao, its first humanoid robot, touted as a "versatile educational companion, widely used in classrooms and research labs for its ability to teach programming, foster social learning, and support research projects." The model was followed by Plato, designed to support healthcare and hospitality environments, and Pepper, capable of recognizing and responding to human emotions and specifically tailored for customer-facing roles. According to the company's website, its robots have found application in more than 70 countries over the years. However, the total number of units sold was a mere 30,000, L'Express estimated. (
